Finally Cruising!

After three weeks and a few days we finally raised anchor and headed out onto the Saone!

Back on the Boat

After being evicted from Decize for four days so the mechanics could have their way with her we finally moved back aboard Friday, June 17, almost exactly three weeks from the day we arrived in St Jean. No one was around when we finally got permission to return and, of course, the engine didn’t start. But… a couple of texts later and an H2O guy shows up with the big booster and we started Decize and moved back to the marina.

St Jean had a big festival Saturday so we stayed one more day to enjoy the fun.

Cruising – Week 1!

Sunday we weighed anchor and headed south on the Saone, still a little concerned about engine starting issues …. but hopeful. Our first day we cruised 48 Km to Verdun-sur-le-Doub passing through two of the big locks on the Saone.

It was a hot, windy day and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the Captainerie served ice cream, beer and wine.

With the exception of a few pretty impressive thunderstorms things are going well – the engine has started first time, every time so far. We spent two nights in Chalon-sur-Saone, a big city after three weeks in St Jean and we nabbed the last visitor spot, too bad for the people in Le Boat rentals!

And Roberta finally got her first Leffe Ruby.

We left Chalon after some major shopping (including a lot of fans!) and headed for Tournus, a place we have never been but will definitely return to. A great town with lots of shops and restaurants and a great hardware store (though a strange obsession with hair – I counted 8 coiffures in a four block area).

We spent an afternoon exploring, visiting the famous Abbaye Saint Philibert.